This is a discussion on WRX Reliability? within the General Maintenance, Troubleshooting & Accidents. forums, part of the Tech & Modifying & General Repairs category; I got my stock 02 rex last week with 7,000 miles on it, and I love it. My only concerns ...

WRX Reliability?

I got my stock 02 rex last week with 7,000 miles on it, and I love it. My only concerns are how long it will last me. I really need this car to get me through the next 6 years of college and the first few years of my first job. I drive aprox. 1,500 a week to school and back and around town. My plans for future mods are as follows: TXS Stealthback & Godspeed Uppipe in late November - early December. Next is a TXS UTEC, probably in late February - early March. After that it's a little sketchy.. maybe a Prodrive muffler in the future, polished throtle body, engine balancing in the distant future, I doubt I'll upgrade the turbo unless the stocker fails or my money situation allows me to purchase one easily.

What I want to know is how long can I expect to go with these mods and moderately spirited driving before something major fails, ie. turbo, motor, tranny.. I know there are a lot of contributing factors present in determining how long a part will last, but what is the norm??

Did you really mean 1500 miles/week, is so, you are looking at a whopping 468K miles in 6 years, I know Subarus last long, but a high performance Subaru with mods, I dont think you'll squeez a half a mil out of it!!! You want a car that can make it to 500K miles get a diesel VW, I know a guy that had 800K on his!

yep.. 1500 miles a week, that's not year round, and I might move closer to campus, especially if I transfer to MIT after getting my BS. I didn't really think about how much that would add up .. so it may not get me through college. (Side note: my brother has an 86 mercadies turbo desil, that's a 1,000,000 mile car over any other )

MisterX: Will I really lose warranty over new exaust and a UTEC? I hope not, that's pretty strict (they couldn't even tell I had the UTEC if I took it out before taking it in). I definately don't have a lot of money, but I'll be able to afford exaust and UTEC. Would either of those mods negatively effect the car's life? I didn't think they would.. of course more power=more stress on drive train etc. but it's not THAT much more power.

How would increasing exaust flow and tuning the timing and fuel control damage the car?

Basically you're saying that I would just be better off saving that $2000 to fix future problems that may arise with my stock car?

Originally posted by MisterX If you want it to last a long time and don't wan't the expense that comes with loss of warranty, don't do any mods.

I second that.

Let me give an example of why: The TurboXS downpipe has a bellmouth where it meets the turbo. It's specifically designed so when the wastegate opens, the exhuast gasses interfere less with the exhaust gasses coming out of the turbo turbine. The stock downpipe is designed with a metal wall facing the wastegate outlet, forcing the wastegate gasses into the stream of gasses exiting the turbine. I think it's pretty clear that Subaru intended this so the wastegate would purposely impede the flow of gasses coming out of the turbine in order to slow the turbine down quickly at higher RPMs, thus saving the turbo and engine from excess wear and, of course, reducing power.

As for warranty concerns, Subraru dealers, with some exceptions, have been notoriously adamant about canceling their warranties for even catback exhausts. When modifying, you should presume that you proceed at your own risk.

Dang.. I thought some dealers were mod friendly? The dealership I went to in Dallas said that they used to warranty all Cobb tuning mods untill two motors blew because of improper tuning. But if they're getting so uptight about it couldn't I reinstall the factory exaust when and if I ever needed to have it serviced at a dealership? Or would they just look at it and tell that parts have been changed out?

[edit]PS: what about a kartboy short shifter, or 18" Rota wheels, would either of those also void my warranty?[/edit]

I'm thinking you're asking two questions (originally). What is the WRX's reliability stock and the WRX's reliability with the mods you listed? I think stock with sane driving, Subaru makes a pretty reliable car. If you push it (ie. frequent hard accels, sharp cornering, and overall spirited driving, excessively) then you start pushing the car to it's outer limits...which should be OK, cause there are safeguards (or limits the manufacturing place in the car).
When you start modding, you give the car the capability of exceeding those safeguards, so then it's really just up to the driving habits...and if you drive her hard...she'll break eventually. I would think, if you you drive her hard for 6 years...she will definitely break.
And I agree w/ others here, you mod at your own risk (I too think a UTEC would totally be grounds of refusing majoy warranty work...C'mon, you're messing with the brain of the car...if someone screws that up, the car can like explode...am I exaggerating?...probably...heheh).
I mod, with the full knowledge that if things break, I have the resources to upgrade and do better...that said, I mod at a snail's pace.
SAve your money and enjoy the car stock...if she's not good enough stock, then you really ought to reconsider why you bought a NEW car. And the more you wait, the better the choices and the cheaper the prices. Try not to get caught up in the modding frenzy known as CLubWRX.net

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